Striking new 44-storey tower proposed for Deansgate Locks - right between Metrolink and train stations

The Whitworth Street West tower, set to feature red external detailing and distinctive street-level arches, will have 364 apartments inside. That’s alongside ‘7,750 sq. ft of active space’, developers Glenbrook say, which is thought will be used for residential amenity and commercial.

New landscaping will also ‘create new green spaces and enhance existing pedestrian routes’, Glenbrook add, which will include new ‘avenues’ to ‘both Cameron Street and Bugle Street’.

“The project is an opportunity to create high-quality homes that will sit comfortably in the context of Whitworth Street West,” said Tony O’Brien, partner at architects Sheppard Robson.

“Our ongoing designs open up the site to create a new piece of public realm at the heart of the development, helping animate the streetscape and enhance connections from the city back to Knott Mill and First Street. The building’s expression draws upon the area’s rich history and local palette of materials to further root the design within its context, tying the scheme back to the listed railway viaduct to the south and Deansgate Station to the west.”

Computer-generated images appear to show the tower will be sandwiched between Deansgate railway station and Deansgate-Castlefield Metrolink station. It would sit on the site neighbouring Vision, a 37-storey, 327 apartment building.

Daniel Roberts, development director at Glenbrook, explained why the area was ‘undergoing a period of revitalisation’: “The site represents a highly sustainable location with close proximity to the cultural and leisure attractions that Manchester offers.”

The plans have yet to receive planning permission, but are up for online public consultation until October 28. An in-person event will be held on October 15, at Home on First Street, from 3.30pm – 7.30pm.